Anyone who knows me in real life knows that I love makeup. I'm not going to justify it. I just love it. I have a ton. Again, I'm not going to justify it. It's not the norm in the homeschool world, and I have gotten some subtle, um, mockery might be the right word (you don't know how badly I wanted to say shade!) for it. I don't care. That doesn't stop people from asking me questions about products, colors, etc. Which brings me to the following: is it possible, in a city like Houston, to wear actual face makeup that won't slide off your face in days with heat indices of 105+? Yes. Completely. I can put on foundation in the morning and still have it looking nearly perfect over 12 hours later after running errands and being outside for limited periods of time. Can I work out in it? Ha! Like I work out. That's a situation I am desperately trying to change, but I will tell you it can stand up to a brisk walk in Houston humidity!

My go-to for years has been Estee Lauder Double-Wear (shade 2C3 - Fresco). I still love it and I'll never leave it. In Houston, we are lucky enough to have CCO's - Cosmetic Company Outlets. There are three in the Cypress Outlet Malls and one in Katy Mills. At the MAC/Estee Lauder/Clinique one in Cypress, you can always find Double Wear 20% off - the question is whether you can find your shade. It is not old stock. If you've never been matched, definitely get matched first at an EL counter and get your free 10 day supply before buying it somewhere else, whether it's Ulta or a CCO.

Lately, however, I have been LOVING Urban Decay's All-Nighter Liquid Foundation. This one is almost a no-go for me because my skin is pretty dry. This puppy will suck up every bit of moisture on your skin. It is a dream when paired with one of UD's new primers - I love the Optical Illusion Complexion Primer. These two together (set with Skindinavia setting spray) last absolutely all day long, even in the super humidity. I don't touch up anything during the day. Ever. My foundation shade is 1.5. It's a pretty perfect match for me. This range is quite good with alternating between the pink and yellow undertones. I've tried it with a brush and a sponge, and I quite prefer a sponge because it sets so fast. I think you need that extra little bit of moisture. (Quickly on the subject of sponges, I quite prefer the L'Oreal sponge to a Beauty Blender, which I used for years. I'm ashamed to say that I succumbed to the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale BB exclusive set because I was a sucker for that lavender sponge, but I definitely prefer L'Oreal.)

I set the foundation only very lightly with IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Pores Pressed Powder and a very fluffy powder brush. That's different than how I set the EL Double Wear. For that, I typically set with MAC Studio Fix Powder Foundation, which definitely adds even more coverage (I'm shade C4 if you need a comparison). The All-Nighter just doesn't need *anything* to make it super full coverage. It probably doesn't need to be set at all, but living in Houston just means setting your foundation in my world. I wouldn't consider anything else.

Finally, I assume it's understood, but the Ulta links aren't affiliate links. I put them in because if you're not shopping Ulta, you should be! Sign up for an account and start accruing points. A month or so ago, I placed an order for $154.00 and paid $4.00 for it. The rest was paid for in points. And that represented the redemption of only a small fraction of my points. Before you redeem any points, Google the Ulta points system so you can make the most of redemption. If you don't currently have a hair stylist, consider auditioning one at Ulta, because services accrue points, too, and they add up quickly! If you live anywhere near me (and you know if you do), give April at the Copperfield Ulta a try. She is awesome. She handles Therese's curly hair and my old hair equally adeptly. She actually matched my hair color to what it was when I was a kid. Three pregnancies leached the red out of my hair almost completely. April brought it back brilliantly. If I have to have the freckles, the rosacea, and the sunburns, I'm going to have the red hair!

Hopefully this post was somewhat helpful. If you're having trouble justifying the price of the UD foundation, maybe this will help. Wayne Goss, makeup artist and YouTuber extraordinaire, found out that most foundations have between 160-180 pumps in them. If you use 1-2 pumps each time you do your makeup, that's about 113 uses. That's about .35 per use. For the end result, that's not bad at all. For me, knowing that my makeup isn't going to break down in the heat is well worth the price of admission!

Doctor Aviation is unlike any program we have ever reviewed. These Aviation Online Training Videos are, quite simply, one of the most unique things on the Internet for homeschoolers (or anyone, but, you know, I'm speaking to my target audience!). Doctor Aviation is a series of 15 videos, each with three different segments: Technical Trivia, Notable Innovators, and Legendary Aircraft/Events. Each video runs about an hour.

The videos are divided into five main topic areas, under which you will learn the following:

1. Course Overview - The Aviation System

I. The Aircraft

2. The Major Components of an Airplane
3. Axes and Forces
4. Why an Aircraft Flies: The Secret of Airfoils and Lift
5. Why an Aircraft Turns, Pitches, and Flies: The Flight Controls

II. Air Traffic Control

6. How We See an Aircraft Miles Away: The Secrets of Radar
7. The Air Traffic Cops: How Air Traffic Control Works

Daryl Smith, Doctor Aviation, is a former Air Force Command Pilot (for part of which he worked on SDI - you know, Star Wars!) and instructor at the Air Force Academy. He is currently a college professor. In other words, this man knows aviation. Because he wanted to bring aviation to high schoolers, he created this virtual classroom. In my opinion, he succeeded.

In addition to the videos, there are two other components to Doctor Aviation. There are downloadable Guided Notes for each video, which I love. I printed these ahead of time for Nicholas to fill out as he was watching the video. I'll be honest: the videos could get to feeling a bit long. Doctor Aviation (Mr. Smith) tends to stand by his plane for most of the video talking. Now, my husband and I didn't mind that at all. I was fascinated. It seems that no matter how many times someone explains to me how planes fly (Video #4), it is a mystery revealed anew each time. Nicholas (14) got bored, though. Having the guided notes for him to fill in along the way was a stroke of brilliance. It kept him alert throughout the whole video.

Obviously the notes aren't fancy, but they don't have to be. They get the job done just fine. If you were taking this course for some kind of credit (because there is absolutely enough material here to be doing this for high school credit), they would make amazing study material.

The final component to each lesson is the "To Learn More" section that accompanies each video. This is the real meat of the lesson if you are doing Doctor Aviation for credit (which Nicholas isn't - I just know that my husband has always loved planes and I thought that he and Nicholas would enjoy learning more about them together). In these pages, Doctor Aviation gives you a *ton* of extra resources to peruse that pertain to the material he just covered in the video. The resources are all very neatly categorized by type and by topic.

I chose this particular screenshot because of that last article. I *love* that Doctor Aviation included an article from a scholarly journal. It's the kind of resource that "the rest of us" just wouldn't normally stumble upon. It's like me citing something from the American Political Science Quarterly. Plus, don't you just kind of wonder if he's 4th author?

If you're taking this class for credit, you won't have to do any extra work in pulling together outside resources. Doctor Aviation has done all of the work for you. I mean, you'll have to put in the time, but it's not like when you're writing a unit study and you have to hunt and search for the best materials: they are already all in one place for you.

For example, in Lesson 4, there are links to videos showing you how to build your own wind tunnel and airfoil. This is just an example of the kind of neat projects you can expect to find.

Finally, although we didn't delve into them, there are tests available from Doctor Aviation, should you so desire. He tells you on the website at what point you should be taking which test.

What We Thought

Well, our household was kind of divided in opinion on this review, but take Nicholas's opinion cum grano salis. The adults really enjoyed Doctor Aviation. The material is so interesting and, I'll confess, I'm a little starstruck by the credentials of the presenter (I mean, I remember debating Star Wars in high school). Is Mr. Smith the most fascinating communicator of all time? No. But he doesn't have to be. He knows his subject, and his passion for his subject is evident. That's enough for me. But Nicholas was raised in a different generation. He is used to far more flash and excitement with his video presentations. Sad but true. He loves informative presentations and he loves learning new things, but he will inevitably compare something like Doctor Aviation to The Science Channel. Still, the videos did hold his attention, and he was completely able to talk about what he learned at the end of each one. One comment - "Wow! That guy really really likes Chuck Yeager!" Also, the courses are designed for ages 16+, and Nicholas is a brand new 14 (and an immature 14 at that), so take those things into consideration when deciding whether or not this product is for you. If you have a child who is at all into aviation, maybe one who is in Civil Air Patrol or who is considering it, I would definitely not hesitate with this one. Or if you yourself are interested in aviation, give the samples online a try. I am *really* enjoying Doctor Aviation and can't wait to see how Air Traffic Control works (my hat is off to anyone who does that job; it looks like a heart attack in waiting to me!).

Many different crew members got a chance to try out Doctor Aviation, so be sure to click the banner below to see what they thought!

Mapelle Films' Trust Fund is a movie for those 12+ (or younger if viewed with the family) whose theme will seem familiar, although it is presented in a fresh new way. There is also a downloadable study guide to give more depth to the movie watching experience if you so desire. It has scriptures and questions that correspond to the different parts of the movie. The cinematographer/producer of Trust Fund, Isaac Alonghi, was homeschooled back when homeschooling just wasn't done (his parents started in 1982! I was seven years old!), and, as many homeschooling parents can attest, that flexibility and free time can really help when it comes to cultivating and pursuing life's passions. You can read more about Isaac in this article.

Trust Fund is the story of Reese Donahue, a young woman whose mother has, unbeknownst to her, left her and her sister a 10 million dollar inheritance. Her father, the owner of a profitable company, has never mentioned the inheritance. Reese hacks into the bank on her sister's computer, transfers her half of the inheritance to her own bank account, and takes her money to Italy to a man with whom she had previously engaged in a romantic relationship. When he runs into financial difficulties, she offers him money, and, well, does the story of the prodigal son sound familiar? This movie is a modern take on the age old story of the prodigal. Also, although I didn't review it, there is also a book, Love Was Near, which further explores the story behind the movie.

Now, don't make the mistake that I was tempted to make. This is *not* a homeschool movie. Yes, it's made by a homeschool graduate, and, yes, there is a Christian message, but this is a thoroughly enjoyable movie in its own right. Need more? It co-stars Willie Garson. That's Stanford Blatch! As in Carrie Bradshaw's best friend. If I'm speaking a foreign language right now, don't even worry about it, but if those names mean anything to you, I've just given you an independent reason to watch this movie (if you Google those names and feel the need to judge me, that's okay. I can take it. Ironically, I can no longer take the vapidity of that show, but I fell in love with shoes because of it.).

Back to our regularly scheduled review. If, like me, the story of the prodigal son troubles you, I encourage you to give this movie a try. See, as a parent, I have no trouble with the prodigal at all. I would welcome Reese back with wide open arms and no questions asked. Unconditional love, right? Just like Jesus. As a sibling, though? Oh, I feel Audrey (Reese's sister)! I have a prodigal brother. Now, he didn't spend the family fortune (there are six kids in my family - there is no fortune to spend), but he did consume quite a bit of resources, emotional and financial when we were kids and young adults. He was...a handful. He had his brushes with drugs, alcohol, and truancy. He put a strain on our family and he put a strain on me personally that I don't think I am over even now. As an adult, though, he is extremely successful both in his career and with his own family. I am so proud of him and I am so happy for him. I am happy and grateful that there are no rifts in our family - that my father doesn't hold any of his past against him and that they have a close relationship. But there is still something inside me that screams out - "But I did everything right! What about me? I never strayed from the right path. I never even stopped going to church! I've always been steady Betty, old reliable - why can't anyone see me?" Seeing a movie like this brings me back to Earth and reminds me that my Father always sees me; that I've never been forgotten.

I was originally going to watch this with Mary-Catherine (12), but she has been sick since we got back from Arkansas, so I ended up watching it alone. I'm glad I did. I'll watch it with her in the near future. I'm pretty sure she'll really enjoy it, and I'm pretty sure she'll recognize a bit of Audrey in her young self, too. I highly recommend this movie.

Home School in the Woods makes lap booking fun. I don't care if you don't think you like lap books or if you think lap books are hard. I can almost guarantee that Home School in the Woods will convert you. Their products are also the best deal in their space in the homeschool market? Why? Because you buy one product and you can lap book (or notebook) an almost infinite (or, in the case of the cool product we got the review, 50) number of options! We have reviewed for this great company before, but this time around, we got to try a new member of the Activity-Paks family: the Make-a-State Activity! (*real time face palm, y'all - after nine years of homeschooling, I *just* got it! Activity-Pak - Amy Pak (for the one or two of you who don't know, she is the genius behind Home School in the Woods). I'm bemused by my thickheadedness and amused by Amy's cleverness. Sorry I'm so late to that party.)

This is not the first Activity-Pak we've done, far from it. In our past ten years of homeschooling, we've worked through The Old Testament, Composers, and Artists. In fact, as she started working on this Activity-Pak, Mary-Catherine immediately began talking about doing Mozart for the Composers Activity-Pak. We've also done several of the Time Traveler American series, including New World Explorers and Colonial Life. Homeschool in the Woods really is a hands-on history company! They have something for everyone, whether you like to study history chronologically (the Time Traveler American series is tailor-made for you!), or thematically (the Activity-Paks have you covered!). Spoilers - read to the end of the review to see how Homeschool in the Woods is determined to service your hands-on history needs, even if you don't need an entire unit study from them!

With the Make-a-State Activity-Pak, you have everything you need to make an amazing lap book for any (or all) of the 50 states! You will get mini book templates for each of the following:

Key State Facts

Origin of State Names

State Motto

State Symbol

State Song

State Wildlife

Regions

State Geography

State Wildlife

State Seal & Flag

State History

Famous People From

Native Tribes

State Industry/Agriculture/Climate

State Landmarks

Sports Teams

State Quarter

Recipes

State Vocabulary

Timeline

Home School in the Woods even goes so far as to include a state facts/information sheet for each state, meaning that you can complete the majority of these mini books without needing to go to any outside sources. *Of course* you can do as much outside research as you want to - you can turn your state study into a semester long unit study if you so choose. If your primary goal is to create a lap book, though, with just the basic information about a state, you will find the vast majority of what you need included right with this Activity-Pak.

Our Experience with Make-a-State Activity

It has been a long time since any of my kids did a lap book. I actually thought they were too old for them. How wrong I was! It turns out that Mary-Catherine (12) was overjoyed that we got this review. "I love lap books!" she enthused. Since I love Home School in the Woods, between the two of us, we had the makings for a great review. Initially, Mary-Catherine was going to use Texas, our home state, as her lap book state of choice, but then she decided to do Arkansas instead. When this review posts, we will have just gotten back from Daisy BB Gun Nationals in Rogers, AR, and she wanted to learn about the state to which we would shortly be traveling. I gamely went about printing off all of the masters that she would need to complete the lap book, and she set up shop at the kitchen table (which is odd, given that we have a schoolroom table, but upon reflection, it's actually a huge compliment to Home School in the Woods - she didn't consider this school!).

Here is a picture of her favorite mini-book. She was delighted to report that she saw plenty of Apple Blossoms and Bauxite while we were in Arkansas!

Even if your ultimate goal is only to complete one state lap book, you can consider the purchase of this study to be money well spent. While I suppose you could just throw together a Home School in the Woods lap book quickly and be done with it, they are *definitely* not designed to be completed this way (and why would you want to?). These mini books are beautifully designed, and each one takes a fair amount of time to complete.

Something New from HSITW!

Y'all! Homeschool in the Woods has something brand new! If you have ever wished for just a part of something that this great company offers, you can now order that way. A-La-Carte projects are here! If you're anything like me, when you teach a certain even in history, you may find yourself doing a quick Internet search for a quick activity to cement it (or, you're one who plans way ahead, in which case, what I'm saying will work, too!). These a-la-carte projects are perfect for this purpose! To see if these a-la-carte projects are right for you, use code alacarte at check out to get the Erie Canal project on the page I linked just above for free! I did! It's a great way to try out what Homeschool in the Woods has to offer if you've never tried them before, too.

If you're still not convinced that HSITW is the best hands-on history company out there, click the banner below to read more reviews and see more great projects!

I love seeing other people's music. In fact, when I met Henry and went to his house for the first time, his CD rack was the first place I went. I was delighted to see how many duplicates we had (and chagrined to see all the country). Here's a tiny snapshot of what Spotify assures me I listen to repeatedly:

As I type, Shaggy is playing. A second ago it was Alaska Thunder**** which, if you happen to follow me on Facebook, would explain why I had to go on Urban Dictionary to look something up! Urban Dictionary is not up on drag slang, though. Sad day.

Fascinating Education has several wonderful options for high school science. Because Nicholas (14) loves Chemistry, I was very happy to have the opportunity to review Fascinating Chemistry. Now, we reviewed Fascinating Chemistry once before when Nicholas was 11, but he didn't do either the labs or the tests at that time. He *did*, however, really enjoy the material presented in this course. He was just beginning his love affair with chemistry at the time, but he couldn't really handle much sophisticated chemistry work. Now that he is on the verge of high school, and poised to do a rigorous high school chemistry class in the fall, I thought revisiting Dr. Sheldon Margulies' soothing voice and clear explanations (this time with labs and tests) would be just right for Nicholas. He was actually quite happy to see this course again! He remembered the format and the presentation of the material and hasn't objected to doing the work (a relief for me).

There are 19 lessons in Fascinating Chemistry. Each lesson takes about 45 minutes to complete, and the pace at which you go is completely up to you. A lesson a week is very doable, but that pace can definitely be increased for students for whom it is on the slow side. Lessons include a slide presentation (accompanied by a pdf script, which includes the slides if you so desire), a test, and, for 12 of the lessons, labs. The topics covered include the following:

The Structure of the Atom

The Ionic Bond

The Covalent Bond

The Polar Covalent Bond

The Metallic Bond - Pt. 1

The Metallic Bond - Pt. 2

Heat

Air Pressure

Properties of Water

The Mole

Gases

Solutions

Chemical Reactions

Orbitals

Molecular Geometry

Electrochemistry

Polymers

The Nucleus

Final Problems

When you open Fascinating Chemistry, this is what your lessons look like.

When you select a lesson, this is what it looks like.

The menu of topics within each lesson is along the side, and the topic progress plays along the bottom (the white progress bar next to the pause button). I am calling them slides, but they are dynamic, not static. They are in motion - very important for watching these atoms and molecules come to life!

Finally, the labs menu looks like this:

The labs themselves are very concisely written up as PDF documents. The labs don't require anything very fancy. The first one that Nicholas did didn't require anything more elaborate than distilled water.

The tests are composed of multiple choice questions drawn directly from the lesson material. Apparently the tests have undergone revision from past iterations, based in part on feedback from past Crew reviews. Yay! Unfortunately, as I indicated, I didn't have Nicholas do the tests the last time he did this course, so I can't comment on the previous tests. What I can say about the tests this time around is that each question is clear and easy to understand, and each question has a hint that you can click right from the question screen itself. At first Nicholas was indignant - "They tell you the answer right there!" but then he was intrigued. He didn't want to *cheat*, but he absolutely wanted to make sure he was getting the right answer. I could tell by his second test score that he definitely wasn't cheating. He got a 70. I told him he had to do it again. It turned out that he knew the answers. I sat with him as he went through the test explanations. He would say over and over, "I *knew* that, but I thought they were talking about the actual size, not the atomic radius." That's life with a 100% literal kid. He can make those explanations/arguments to me, but what's going to happen to him in college? I'll be honest. It worries me. It also makes me grateful for opportunities like this one for no-stakes tests that I can watch him work through and try to explain to him.

Nicholas really does enjoy Fascinating Chemistry. He loves Chemistry in general, and reviewing this material has been good for him. He commented to me, "I've learned this stuff a hundred times!" Yes, dear, but you're still getting the test questions wrong...and his tone wasn't a complaining one. He was just making an observation. Dr. Margulies doesn't ever talk down to students. Ever. He just explains. He teaches. You know how there are some kids who know right away when they are being condescended to and won't stand for it? That's Nicholas. To the contrary, though, he enjoys being taught by Dr. Margulies.

The one thing that I wish were different about this course is having the ability to track Nicholas's progress. Now, when you leave off watching the slides/videos, and then come back, the course does ask if you want to pick up where you left off. If you take a test, though, there is no record of it. So, Nicholas told me that he took the test for lesson one, but there is no record of it. I watched him take the tests for lessons two and three, but when I went back and looked, it just began at the beginning of the test as if everything were fresh and new. I found that a bit frustrating. It's hardly a deal-breaker, but the recording of a score, at the very least, would be helpful.

The Crew was blessed to review this and other courses by Fascinating Education, so if this kind of learning experience sounds like something your children would enjoy, definitely click the banner below to read more reviews.

When I say brief, I mean brief. I am *so* far behind in work, it's not even funny. It's scary. I thought (foolishly assumed) we would have Internet in Arkansas at the lake house we rented, but no. That didn't happen. I'm very naive. We were in Arkansas for Daisy's National BB Gun Championship. I could write reams about that, but I'll be content to say that Daisy is an amazing organization and they put on an amazing competition. I have been at many competitions put on by other organizations that are overdone in every possible way, including their prayers. At Daisy, they are completely Christian, and it shows. The prayer, though, consisted of "May God continue to bless you and your families, and God bless the USA." I believe that about covers it, regardless of your denominational leanings. People close to me have heard me talk about the problems with Catholic Masses turning into the Father so-and-so show, well events featuring guest "pray-ers" have the same problem. Daisy did that one just right. I loved it. Our team of all first year shooters all shot personal bests and finished in the top third of all teams in the country (many of whose kids have been shooting upwards of five years). So much credit goes to this amazing man - one of the kids' coaches.

He has made them love the sport to the point that Mary-Catherine and Michael have both said that if forced to choose, they would choose shooting over debate and - surprise! I would completely support that choice. Now, I know that there are nasty people in shooting; there are nasty people everywhere. I have met so many more nice people in shooting, though, and the camaraderie of our team is like nothing I have experienced on any debate team I have ever been a part of. I love that they love it, and I credit our amazing coaches for that. It is definitely a top-down phenomenon.

After Nationals, we spent a few days at a lake house so restful that we are thinking about (in the future!) buying our own lake house in Arkansas. What a gorgeous state!

Coming home I was looking forward to getting back into our routine. No shooting practice every day with team meetings twice a week, so more time for swimming and school for the kids and work for me before debate started. It looks like my upcoming year with our debate club will be much more low key since I won't be coaching extemp or debate anymore, so I'll just be working with my own two teams (baby Delgado/Delgado is a thing!). I have been humbled a lot recently, and it has been very painful, but I know that it is all God's will and that He has bigger and better things for me.

Humbling comes in many forms. This morning another car and I backed into each other in the Walmart parking lot (what an ignominious place to have an accident). It has been so long since I had an accident (graduate school) that I am completely unfamiliar with the whole process. It sucks. There has been no getting back to routine today. My mind is so cluttered that I can't work. And I neeeeed to work. My dad talked me off a ledge and reminded me that I am an imperfect person in an imperfect world and that this is really not that big of a deal. He told me to put it out of my mind. I know he's right. If only my mind would pay heed to his words of wisdom.

Now you're caught up to speed. I return you to your regularly scheduled reviews tomorrow.